Literacy traps: Society‐wide education and individual skill premia

Vidya Atal, Kaushik Basu, John Gray and Travis Lee

International Journal of Economic Theory, 2010, vol. 6, issue 1, 137-148

Abstract: Using a model of an O‐ring production function, the present paper demonstrates how certain communities can get caught in a low‐literacy trap in which each individual finds that it is not worthwhile investing in higher skills because others are not high‐skilled. The model sheds light on educational policy. It is shown that policy for promoting human capital has to take the form of a mechanism for solving the coordination failure in people's choice of educational strategy.

Date: 2010
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https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1742-7363.2009.00126.x

Related works:
Working Paper: Literacy Traps: Society-Wide Education and Individual Skill Premia (2009)
Working Paper: Literacy Traps: Society-wide Education and Individual Skill Premia (2009)
Working Paper: Literacy Traps: Society-wide Education and Individual Skill Premia (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:ijethy:v:6:y:2010:i:1:p:137-148

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